Are there laws that members of parliament have to follow when deciding how to vote?

There is no law that says how members of parliament must vote. Each member is responsible for deciding how to vote on each issue. However, political parties often have their own rules and expectations about members voting together as a team.

The Australian Constitution requires that votes be taken in Parliament, but it does not say how members should decide to vote. The Constitution also gives the Senate and House of Representatives the power to make their own rules, called standing orders.  These standing orders explain how meetings are run each day, including rules about how members cast their vote during a division (a counted vote), but they do not say how members should decide to vote.

In practice, members of parliamentary parties usually vote together as a team. Most parties have rules about this. During a division members of parliament sit on the right of the Presiding Officer to vote ‘yes’ and to the left to vote ‘no’.  If a member of a political party decides to vote differently to rest of their party, they walk across the floor to sit opposite the other members of their team. This is called ‘crossing the floor.’ It rarely happens because there can be consequences for members who cross the floor. Party members could get suspended by their party for not following their party rules.

Sometimes, parties allow a conscience vote. This is called a ‘free vote’ in Parliament, where members can vote according to their own beliefs and the wishes of their electorate rather than with their party. Each parliamentary party decides when its members are allowed a free vote on a particular issue.